"Nick, it's been six months since I was suspended. You know I love Emily as
much as you do, but." Jen sighed.
"But what?" Nick asked as they sat on the couch.
"Ever since I got out of university all I've been doing is being a crime scene investigator. Being a mother is very important to me as well, but Nick, one income isn't enough. Living paycheck to paycheck is very hard, and I'm not turning to the credit cards." Jen sighed once more. "I need to get back to work, we need the money."
"Jen, we're fine." Nick said trying to reassure his wife. "The bills are getting paid, Emily has clothes, toys, she's being fed, we're eating, and we have a roof over our head. We're fine. Emily is getting more than her share of clothes and toys from our parents. She's looked after, and well; and if everything goes well in the next few weeks, I could get the promotion I applied for. Everything will work out fine."
"Another letter came from you in the mail. No return address." Jen spoke. "You have another girlfriend you're not telling me about?" She laughed.
Nick looked at Jen with serious eyes. "No. Never. I love you." He smiled then laughed. "Those letters aren't important. They're just stupid chain letters." Nick didn't like lying to Jen, they were all about honesty, but he had to do it for her safety. So far no more threats against her life surfaced since the letter months ago, so he didn't worry that much. Yet, in the back of his mind it still worried him. He couldn't lose Jennifer, he loved her too much. He was truly and really happy. Since he became an adult he was looking for a woman like Jennifer and he finally found her. He wouldn't let anyone harm the life of the mother of his child, his wife. He'd lay his life on the line before anyone would get to her. He'd die for her.
"Mr. Farrera, thank you for coming in." Catherine said as she and Sara we're joined by him in interrogation room number two. "We're sorry to inform you that you're business partner and friend has been murdered. We do know that you were at his house the night of his death. Can you please tell me and Miss Sidle what you were doing there?"
"We were going over court papers for our case. He and I were planning to open a community center not to far from Water Front Community Club. The club didn't like that; they said it would bring the wrong type of kids into their area and they'd fight it in court to have our project stopped. I love that community, I grew up there. Just want to give back to it to what I gave me. They were ready to put up a huge fight and we were ready to face it head on. This project was my baby." Adam spoke.
"When was this?" Sara asked.
"Eight twenty-five. He didn't get back from the gym until eight fifteen. I was at the Outback Steakhouse on North Rainbow Boulevard before that. I have the receipt if you'd like to see it." Adam suggested and Catherine nodded. Adam passed the receipt forward to validate his whereabouts. "I used my credit card as you can see."
"Yes, thank you." Catherine returned. "How long were you at Mr. Appleton's house?"
"Five minutes. He was going to get take out after that, so I left him to do so." Adam said.
"Did you drive to his place?" Sara questioned.
"No. A friend took me. My car is in the shop and I couldn't get a rental from the company I usually use, on short notice. His name is Peter Greyson if you want to know." Adam validated once more.
"How do you know him?" Sara asked again. "Do I really need to tell you?" Adam questioned Sara.
"Well, if you don't want to be taken into custody then yeah, you need to tell us." Catherine shot back.
"He's my older sister's kid." Adam sighed.
"Where did you go after that?" Sara questioned next.
"The Palms. I was a VIP at a party there. You can check it out if you'd like. Christian Nelson hosted it. I went to business school with him. He was my roommate. Moved to Vegas the same time I did." Adam shot back now getting annoyed with the two ladies.
"Will do. Thank you for coming." Sara smiled. Adam pushed back his chair, rose and exited the room. "Well, we can't arrest him or Peter. They both have reliable stories and everything checks out."
"Well, we have Mr. Nelson left. Why don't we check him out?" Catherine suggested.
"We'll probably get a confirmation of where he's been at the time of the vic's death. This case is starting to look like a dead end." Sara sighed.
"This coming from a girl who loves her job and lives for it. Sara, I'm surprised!" Catherine exclaimed. Sara returned Catherine's comment with rolling her eyes.
"Hey Warrick." Nick shouted as he sprinted down the halls of the lab. "Heard Grissom has a new case for us."
"Yeah, good job on the last one. I didn't get a chance to read the last of your report, why did her neighbor kill her?" Warrick asked walking into Grissom's office.
"Infatuation. If he couldn't have her, no one could." Nick sighed. "I'm getting sick of the way people act."
"Hello guys." Grissom said as he sat behind his desk. "Nick, I was just called by the Sheriff. Jen's case is going in front of a judge next week, Monday. The sheriff requested that it be a closed hearing, and it's been granted. You and I are being requested to testify. So are you Warrick since you we're working with Jen that day."
"Wait. I have to testify?" Nick asked. "For or against?"
"It could be both." Grissom said with a quiet tone.
"I have to testify against my wife? No way, I can't do that." Nick shouted.
"Nick, lower your voice. I don't think it will get to that. Besides, I don't think the Sheriff would let you. The DA will just ask you questions about her work relation and your relation to her." Grissom said jotting something down in a case file.
Nick huffed. He was not pleased. Jennifer shouldn't be on trial for anything in the first place. Nick sure wanted to know who is accusing her of throwing out evidence. If he could only get his hands on him. "Warrick said we have a new case?" Nick asked changing the topic.
"Yeah. You two are working on Jennifer's case." Grissom stated.
"Huh?" Warrick said. "Are we even allowed to?"
"The Sheriff is allowing it. If Ecklie got his hands on this case, he'd tear it all apart and not side with Jennifer. You know how he is when it comes to her working under my supervision. Favoritism. He's still an ass." Grissom spat.
"Nick, I'm trusting that you can do this with out getting your feelings for Jennifer in the way. I know how much you love her, I love her too. We need to do this right. I know Jennifer didn't do this. She's too good of a CSI, she knows better."
"Don't worry Gris, we'll figure out who's behind this." Warrick said. "Do you have any suspicions on who it could be? Someone within the department?"
"Heh, like Ecklie." Nick laughed. Grissom shot him a look back. "Sorry."
"It could be, but I'm not sure. It could be someone on the outside. I want you guys to start by looking at her recent cases. No wait, look at all her cases since she started here. Look for complaints if any, look for anything out of the ordinary like people she interviewed or people she locked up. Best yet, you may have to look at the cases she had back in L.A. For that, call the Sheriff. He'll be glad to help." Grissom spoke once more. "Call me if you need any help."
"Yeah, thanks Grissom." Warrick said before heading out of Grissom's office. "Why would anyone do this to Jen? I just don't get it Nick."
"You're telling me. What she does is her job. We put away bad people all the time. That guy from her high school was put away and he's not getting out for a long time. I can't really think of anyone else who would want to do this to her." Nick said running his fingers through his hair. "The good thing to this is she's with Emily. Emily loves it. And she can take naps." Nick laughed. "I wish I could take a nap."
"Would you like a bottle too?" Warrick asked with a laugh.
"But what?" Nick asked as they sat on the couch.
"Ever since I got out of university all I've been doing is being a crime scene investigator. Being a mother is very important to me as well, but Nick, one income isn't enough. Living paycheck to paycheck is very hard, and I'm not turning to the credit cards." Jen sighed once more. "I need to get back to work, we need the money."
"Jen, we're fine." Nick said trying to reassure his wife. "The bills are getting paid, Emily has clothes, toys, she's being fed, we're eating, and we have a roof over our head. We're fine. Emily is getting more than her share of clothes and toys from our parents. She's looked after, and well; and if everything goes well in the next few weeks, I could get the promotion I applied for. Everything will work out fine."
"Another letter came from you in the mail. No return address." Jen spoke. "You have another girlfriend you're not telling me about?" She laughed.
Nick looked at Jen with serious eyes. "No. Never. I love you." He smiled then laughed. "Those letters aren't important. They're just stupid chain letters." Nick didn't like lying to Jen, they were all about honesty, but he had to do it for her safety. So far no more threats against her life surfaced since the letter months ago, so he didn't worry that much. Yet, in the back of his mind it still worried him. He couldn't lose Jennifer, he loved her too much. He was truly and really happy. Since he became an adult he was looking for a woman like Jennifer and he finally found her. He wouldn't let anyone harm the life of the mother of his child, his wife. He'd lay his life on the line before anyone would get to her. He'd die for her.
"Mr. Farrera, thank you for coming in." Catherine said as she and Sara we're joined by him in interrogation room number two. "We're sorry to inform you that you're business partner and friend has been murdered. We do know that you were at his house the night of his death. Can you please tell me and Miss Sidle what you were doing there?"
"We were going over court papers for our case. He and I were planning to open a community center not to far from Water Front Community Club. The club didn't like that; they said it would bring the wrong type of kids into their area and they'd fight it in court to have our project stopped. I love that community, I grew up there. Just want to give back to it to what I gave me. They were ready to put up a huge fight and we were ready to face it head on. This project was my baby." Adam spoke.
"When was this?" Sara asked.
"Eight twenty-five. He didn't get back from the gym until eight fifteen. I was at the Outback Steakhouse on North Rainbow Boulevard before that. I have the receipt if you'd like to see it." Adam suggested and Catherine nodded. Adam passed the receipt forward to validate his whereabouts. "I used my credit card as you can see."
"Yes, thank you." Catherine returned. "How long were you at Mr. Appleton's house?"
"Five minutes. He was going to get take out after that, so I left him to do so." Adam said.
"Did you drive to his place?" Sara questioned.
"No. A friend took me. My car is in the shop and I couldn't get a rental from the company I usually use, on short notice. His name is Peter Greyson if you want to know." Adam validated once more.
"How do you know him?" Sara asked again. "Do I really need to tell you?" Adam questioned Sara.
"Well, if you don't want to be taken into custody then yeah, you need to tell us." Catherine shot back.
"He's my older sister's kid." Adam sighed.
"Where did you go after that?" Sara questioned next.
"The Palms. I was a VIP at a party there. You can check it out if you'd like. Christian Nelson hosted it. I went to business school with him. He was my roommate. Moved to Vegas the same time I did." Adam shot back now getting annoyed with the two ladies.
"Will do. Thank you for coming." Sara smiled. Adam pushed back his chair, rose and exited the room. "Well, we can't arrest him or Peter. They both have reliable stories and everything checks out."
"Well, we have Mr. Nelson left. Why don't we check him out?" Catherine suggested.
"We'll probably get a confirmation of where he's been at the time of the vic's death. This case is starting to look like a dead end." Sara sighed.
"This coming from a girl who loves her job and lives for it. Sara, I'm surprised!" Catherine exclaimed. Sara returned Catherine's comment with rolling her eyes.
"Hey Warrick." Nick shouted as he sprinted down the halls of the lab. "Heard Grissom has a new case for us."
"Yeah, good job on the last one. I didn't get a chance to read the last of your report, why did her neighbor kill her?" Warrick asked walking into Grissom's office.
"Infatuation. If he couldn't have her, no one could." Nick sighed. "I'm getting sick of the way people act."
"Hello guys." Grissom said as he sat behind his desk. "Nick, I was just called by the Sheriff. Jen's case is going in front of a judge next week, Monday. The sheriff requested that it be a closed hearing, and it's been granted. You and I are being requested to testify. So are you Warrick since you we're working with Jen that day."
"Wait. I have to testify?" Nick asked. "For or against?"
"It could be both." Grissom said with a quiet tone.
"I have to testify against my wife? No way, I can't do that." Nick shouted.
"Nick, lower your voice. I don't think it will get to that. Besides, I don't think the Sheriff would let you. The DA will just ask you questions about her work relation and your relation to her." Grissom said jotting something down in a case file.
Nick huffed. He was not pleased. Jennifer shouldn't be on trial for anything in the first place. Nick sure wanted to know who is accusing her of throwing out evidence. If he could only get his hands on him. "Warrick said we have a new case?" Nick asked changing the topic.
"Yeah. You two are working on Jennifer's case." Grissom stated.
"Huh?" Warrick said. "Are we even allowed to?"
"The Sheriff is allowing it. If Ecklie got his hands on this case, he'd tear it all apart and not side with Jennifer. You know how he is when it comes to her working under my supervision. Favoritism. He's still an ass." Grissom spat.
"Nick, I'm trusting that you can do this with out getting your feelings for Jennifer in the way. I know how much you love her, I love her too. We need to do this right. I know Jennifer didn't do this. She's too good of a CSI, she knows better."
"Don't worry Gris, we'll figure out who's behind this." Warrick said. "Do you have any suspicions on who it could be? Someone within the department?"
"Heh, like Ecklie." Nick laughed. Grissom shot him a look back. "Sorry."
"It could be, but I'm not sure. It could be someone on the outside. I want you guys to start by looking at her recent cases. No wait, look at all her cases since she started here. Look for complaints if any, look for anything out of the ordinary like people she interviewed or people she locked up. Best yet, you may have to look at the cases she had back in L.A. For that, call the Sheriff. He'll be glad to help." Grissom spoke once more. "Call me if you need any help."
"Yeah, thanks Grissom." Warrick said before heading out of Grissom's office. "Why would anyone do this to Jen? I just don't get it Nick."
"You're telling me. What she does is her job. We put away bad people all the time. That guy from her high school was put away and he's not getting out for a long time. I can't really think of anyone else who would want to do this to her." Nick said running his fingers through his hair. "The good thing to this is she's with Emily. Emily loves it. And she can take naps." Nick laughed. "I wish I could take a nap."
"Would you like a bottle too?" Warrick asked with a laugh.